Money-saving musings...

jwil

Ooh that is exciting about your book, I'd be interested to see if someone picks it up!

La_escocesa

Well, I've survived to see another payday.

I think I'm usually feeling a bit more upbeat come payday - looking forward to getting things paid off etc - but not so this month. I'm in my overdraft, got a big cc bill to clear so that ultimately means less coming off big debt balance transfer card.

Not really worked out all the facts and figures yet - that can me tomorrow's task so I'll update then.

La_escocesa

Feeling a bit more positive this morning. Guess it must just be seeing the cash in my account and my overdraft not being as bad as I thought.

Today I've made some payments:
:T £160.52 to eggy weggy
:T £252 something to Halifax (the rest on that card is OH's - so although the balance isn't clear, my bit is IYSWIM)
:T £44.76 to O/D

Still this month there will be min pmts going to eggy weggy and halifax so that'll be another £60 or so.

Not bad work for a Friday morning!

Debt now stands at £2,500. Not much if you say it quick!

x

La_escocesa

[STRIKE]:wave:

Well…I've come to a big decision :eek: Have decided to sell the flat! :eek: I have absolutely no clue what I might get for it but hey ho, it's not about making money on it tbh, just about starting afresh in a rented place with H2B, while we pay off our debts, build up a deposit and decide where we want to settle down. Just a mini renting-period interlude to give us a bit of breathing space. I know it can be like throwing money away, but that's not the main factor here - it's about living somewhere where we're both comfortable. Plus, we'll be able to rent a place that we wouldn't be able to buy at the minute - quite excited about having a garden, a spare room and storage space; being able to have all the things we want to have at home with us instead of having them in boxes in our parents' attics and garages.

I don't think I will end up in negative equity technically - my NR mortgage should be covered - but I got a NR Together mortgage so I still owe a bit of the loan that goes along with that. We'll see - no point worrying about something that's not happened yet.

So here's what I'm thinking (in an ideal world!):
- clean, clean, clean & pack up non-essentials - this week
- call EAs - this week to come round next week
- fix silicone round bath - this week
- paint bits of the wall - this week
- take pics - next week
- do info sheets - next week
- get it on the web - end of July max
- get a few viewings - July/Aug
- find one or two interested buyers - July/Aug
- wait for all the offers - Aug
- sell it! - Aug/Sept

Well, that's the ideal… We'll see

Just got a book from the library about buying and selling in tough economic times - some light reading to get me started [/STRIKE]

Arghh, decided again to put it on hold. Just too much with the wedding - at least it gave us an excuse to have a clear out!!

jwil

Well done on getting the debt down to 2.5k, that's really impressive!

Good luck for selling the flat, hopefully you'll get enough to cover the mortgage and the loan. If you try http://www.ourproperty.co.uk/ or http://www.zoopla.co.uk/ you should be able to get an idea of what it is worth, especially if others like yours have sold fairly recently.

La_escocesa

Arghh, this month has been a nightmare! Nowt done in the flat, money passing through my hands like water and my debt reduced by a whole £60.

Ended up getting nowhere with the EA. Place is still cluttered - need to get packing boxes and shipping loads of stuff out before anyone comes round, let alone an EA or any buyers

Not had any time for any other money-saving/making either - no ebay sales and no surveys.

I'm back on the DFW bus today though and posted my daily small things list so things are looking a tiny bit brighter...

Have looked at my budget again and that says I can have my cc clear in 6 months. That would be nice, but I just don't believe it!

NSDs - 10 to aim for - possible 14… eek, it's gonna be tight!

Sun 11th
Mon 12th
Weds 14th
Thurs 15th
Mon 19th
Tues 20th
Weds 21st
Thurs 22nd
Mon 26th
Tues 27th
Weds 28th
Thurs 29th
Fri 30th
Sat 31st

:rotfl: OK, may have to write off this month's NSD challenge! :rotfl:

La_escocesa

Not got much planned for August :j I'm going to have lots of wedding expenses though so swings and roundabouts

:wall:House-wise (living here feels like hitting my head off a brick wall - nice icon methinks!) we got some free boxes so going to fill up a few of those and hopefully find some things to eb@y while I'm at it so that will be welcome!

Shall keep y'all updated.

La_escocesa

Generally weekends/weekends away makes my expenses creep up! In August I've not got much planned so I'm hoping this will be a good month to stick within budget!

I got paid a week ago and most of that cash is already accounted for, which means I've got 25 days in August (plus what's left of this month) to live on not a lot. In saying that, things aren't as dire as that first may seem - all household bills, food and a few extras are already accounted for. I'm just talking about my 'pocket money'.

Did get the e bay selling bug once again and I'll hopefully find some more things to sell so that'll be nice. Also gave a bag of stuff to the hospice shop so feel good about that :A

Let's see what the weekends have in store:
31st/1st - footie game already paid for - £5/£10
7th/8th - [STRIKE]picnic with friends - £10[/STRIKE] pub with friends & take away.
14th/15th - [STRIKE]were supposed to be going camping but not going anymore - more moneysaving…[/STRIKE] launderette spends and swimming
21st/22nd - might be working overtime…

5 weekend month this month - one down, four to go!

Wish me luck!

jwil

:wave:Hello! Just popping in as I haven't been on much recently.

July has been really bad for me too, there must be something in the air!

Good luck with the debtbusting in August.

The Sainsbury's around here stack up their banana boxes for customers to take - they were a life saver for us doing the house clearance and when we moved. They are really strong and just a good size so they don't get too heavy. You just need to line them with a piece of card to cover up the hole in the bottom. Don't know if they do it near you, but it might be worth checking out as they saved us a fortune on packing boxes!

La_escocesa

Oops, just checked my banking...need to pay £90 out and only got £85 in there!

24 days till payday...

No spending/buying this month and must get selling! Need to find my camera pronto (I put it somewhere safe...) and get my e bay listings done.

Bye bye Gucci sunglasses that I don't wear and some make-up/beauty products that I think will sell for a decentish price...